Aztec West

210 Aztec West: 1980s Art Deco

Aztec West is a business park in Gloucestershire, at ST606828, at the northern fringes of the "Greater Bristol" conurbation, near Bradley Stoke and Patchway. It is at a transport hub, close to the M4 and M5 motorways and the Almondsbury Interchange. Adjacent is the A38 trunk road.

History

The park has been developed since the early 1980s, but some land is still available for future development. The work of Architectural Practices such as Nicholas Grimshaw, Michael Aukett, SOM and CZWG can be seen on the site.

The name is said to derive from 'A to Z of Technology' and its position in the west. It was conceived as a science park - it was originally funded by the 'Electricity Supply Nominees' on the half of the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) pension fund but in the mid-1980s was sold to Arlington Securities.

Companies

The Aztec Centre at Aztec West

Aztec West is home to over 100 companies, and 7,000 people work there. The Aztec Centre was opened by Margaret Thatcher on Friday 15 December 1989 and there is a plaque to commemorate this in its entrance.

The park includes warehouse/factory units, the four star Aztec Hotel, several office villages, a central retail area and a Starbucks connected to a bar in a hotel, the first such facility in the UK. Included in the landscaping are three lakes. Nearby are the aerospace industries at Filton and the large business parks at the edge of Bradley Stoke.

Companies include LV=Insurance, HSS Hire, EE (formerly Orange), HSBC, WS Atkins, Aardman, Nvidia, STMicroelectronics, Allianz, Hoare Lea and the Co-Operative Legal Services.

Transport

Major roads and bus stops near Aztec West

Aztec West is less than half a mile from the M5 Junction 16, and a mile from the Almondsbury Interchange with the M4 motorway.

Public transport links are generally poor, although some bus services do run to Aztec West, the main service being 73 operated by First Bristol. This service no longer enters the complex, with connections to Patchway, Cribbs Causeway Bus Station and Bradley Stoke, Bristol Parkway railway station, MoD Abbey Wood, Gloucester Road and Bristol City Centre. The 73 takes a more indirect route than the 309/310 to Bristol City Centre (operated by First Somerset and Avon), however it typically runs more than twice as regularly. Service 73B is a version of 73, taking a slightly different route around Bradley Stoke (via Willow Brook Centre), although this service generally only runs in evenings and on Sundays. Service X73 runs as an express route after Bradley Stoke on the M32 to Bristol City Centre.

The Park has no direct rail links. The nearest railway station is at Patchway about a mile and a half away. The mainline station, Bristol Parkway, is about three miles away. In 2001 Aztec West was selected as the northern terminus for the proposed Bristol Supertram project, which was planned to operate as a 30 minute service between the park and Bristol City Centre. The project was cancelled in 2004.

Bristol Airport, south of Bristol, can be reached in about 40–45 minutes by car or bus.